


The Blue Freak Is Dead

by bluemandycat



Category: Archvillain Series - Barry Lyga
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Mourning, One Person Short of a Love Triangle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 18:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19256815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemandycat/pseuds/bluemandycat
Summary: Mike wants to know what Kyle knows about the Blue Freak.





	The Blue Freak Is Dead

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! It's been a WHILE since I've written any Archvillain fanfic! But I've graduated and now I'm back in the swing of things, so take this piece!!

“Hey, Kyle?”

 

Kyle usually wouldn’t even dignify a question from Mighty Mike with a response. The dude was an idiot. Like, a straight-up idiot. Kyle had once seen him make a grilled cheese with his own Mighty Beams, and although he ate it with no problem, it was probably irradiated as hell. Who knew how much harm Mike did every time he breathed?!

 

But sadly, Mairi was next to him, and she had been pushing Kyle to be nicer to Mike. Well, she was  _ always  _ pushing Kyle to be nicer to Mike, but it was only recently that Kyle had started listening. And he wanted to make up for lost time. So when Mike talked to him, he didn’t immediately walk away. 

 

“What’s up?” he replied.

 

“Could I talk to you privately?”

 

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “ _ Why?” _

 

Mike bit his lip. “Just trust me.”

 

“I don’t trust you,” Kyle replied automatically. 

 

Mairi hit him in the arm. “Kyle!”

 

Okay, admittedly, he deserved that one. He turned to her and said, “I don’t want to go into a broom closet with Mighty Mike and exclude you!”

 

“I don’t mind,” she said, a little too quickly. 

 

Mike averted his eyes. “No offense, Mairi. I just don’t think you’d like to hear what I have to say.”

 

“And I would?” Kyle asked. 

 

“Yeah,” Mike said plainly. 

 

Kyle turned to Mairi. “That’s not suspicious to you?” 

 

“Oh, don’t be a baby,” she said. “Just go talk to him.”

 

Kyle looked back at Mike, who flashed a smile. Kyle let out an overly dramatic groan and walked over to Mike. Mairi flashed them both a thumbs up. 

 

Mike grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him down the hall. His touch was feather-light, but that was probably to avoid crushing any bones. Kyle suspected that Mike only had two modes– ginger reverence, and no-holds-barred strength. Kyle was reasonably sure that he could get free of Mike’s delicate hold, but resisted the impulse. For Mairi’s sake. 

 

Mike stopped them both in a fairly-empty corridor. He let go of Kyle’s wrist, looked around to make sure nobody was listening in, and then said, “Tell me about the Blue Freak.”

 

_ Ah, shit _ . “Ah, shit,” Kyle said out loud. Mike had found out about his secret identity. This was it. This was the end of his academic career. He would have to go to jail, no question about it. 

 

“So you  _ do  _ know him!” Mike exclaimed. 

 

Know him? Okay, so Mike didn’t have the full scope of it. It was okay. It was salvageable. He wasn’t doomed to a life in prison just yet. “Why would you assume I know him?”

 

“He hates me. You hate me. Why wouldn’t you two be friends?”

 

“I don’t…” Kyle began, but then considered himself. Did he hate Mike? At one point, that would have been a solid yes. Now, it was more of a nebulous yes. He hated Mike, but there was some room for growth. 

 

Kyle doubted he would grow. 

 

“So you know something?”

 

“Maybe. Why do you need to know?” Kyle asked.

 

“Uh….” Mike looked like he was racking his brain for a good lie to tell. “School project?”

 

“That’s not a good lie. That’s possibly the worst lie you could have chosen,” Kyle told him. “The truth, please.”

 

“Fine.” Mike set his jaw and straightened his back. “I know he’s dead. We all know he’s dead. I just… want to figure out more about him. I never really got a chance to get to know him while he was alive. Not for, uh, lack of trying.”

 

Oh, Kyle could attest to that. Back when he had been active in the air, he had resisted Mike’s attempts to get buddy-buddy for a good long while. They had thinned out when Kyle had begun hanging out with the Mad Mask, and after Ultitron, they had ended completely (due largely to Kyle’s inactivity while he got over his post-Mad Mask funk). Did he miss them? Kyle really couldn’t say. The only other person that was that determined to see the good in him was Mairi. But then, she only saw one side of him.

 

“I never knew why he hated me so much. I’ve tried to track down the Mad Mask, but he’s hard to get a grip on, and the few times I’ve found him, he’s been very tight-lipped about the Blue Freak,” continued Mike.

 

“Maybe he’s hurting,” said Kyle, without thinking. 

 

Mike looked at him curiously. “Why would he be hurting?”

 

Kyle felt himself blush, and he quickly turned around. “I’ve said too much.”

 

“No, Kyle, answer me! Why would he be hurting?” Mike put a hand on his shoulder. “What do you know?”

 

Kyle let out a long, protracted sigh as he turned around, in order to buy himself enough time to think up a convincing lie. When he had concocted something that was somewhat believable (it didn’t need to be entirely believable– it  _ was  _ Mike, after all), he said, “Okay. Here’s what happened, but you can’t tell anyone.” He waited for Mike to nod, and then continued. “I left the window open one night, and I woke up to the Blue Freak’s hand around my neck. He wasn’t squeezing it or anything, but I knew he was serious. He told me not to speak, and he explained that he was going to set up a bunker in the woods near my house. To hide his costume in, so it couldn’t be traced back to him. Maybe he thought I’d be easy to frame? I don’t know. But he said that if the police got wind of its location, I should take the costume out and burn it. He told me that he’d know if I ratted on him.” Kyle laughed. “Not that he needed to. I’m not a narc.”

 

“You do realize I’m a deputy, right?”

 

“And?” Kyle said. “I’m still not a narc, because you’re not really the police. Besides, the Blue Freak is dead now. What’s he gonna do?” In a way, he wasn’t lying. The Blue Freak would probably never come back.

 

Mike bit his lip. “Could I see it, then? The bunker? If you know he’s not going to kill you?”

 

“Oh, I don’t think he was ever going to kill me,” Kyle said hastily. Couldn’t afford  _ that  _ sort of reputation developing. 

 

“Oh. Good,” Mike said. “But could I see it?”

 

Now it was Kyle’s turn to bite his lip. It was sort of sweet that Mike cared, he had to admit. Add in the fact that appeasing Mike would win him major points in Mairi’s book, and it was starting to look like a win. 

 

Kyle sighed. “If I show you, will you leave the subject alone?”

 

Mike nodded vigorously. “Whatever you want!”   
  


“Then fine,” Kyle said. He turned back around, and began walking back to Mairi.

 

“I’ll pick you up after school, then?” Mike called.

 

“Whatever,” he replied.

 

–––––––––––––––––––––––

 

Mike did come to pick him up after school. He did so in a very show-offy manner– offering his arm to Kyle in front of a crowd of people, including Mairi. Kyle could hardly say no, but he shot a few choice words at the few boys that dared to wolf whistle, and relished how Mike’s face dropped. That didn’t save him from getting picked up, bridal-style (again, in front of  _ everybody _ ), but it took the edge off. 

 

Mike whisked him across town, through the sky. Kyle had to admit, he had kind of missed the feeling of flying. The mountains and sky were blue-on-blue, like an impressionistic painting. People on the ground waved to Mike, but seemed not to care about Kyle.  _ I’m so high up, they probably just think I’m Mairi _ , Kyle thought grumpily. What a shame. He’d wanted to cause a scene. 

 

Mike touched down in Kyle’s backyard, and as soon as it was safe, Kyle twisted to get out of his arms. Surprised, Mike dropped him. 

 

Kyle landed on his knees, and Mike leaned over. “Whoa! You’re like a squirmy little cat!”

 

“Watch it,” Kyle grumbled, standing up. 

 

“You landed on your knees, too! Just like a cat!”

 

“Feet,” Kyle said. 

 

“Huh?”

 

“Cats land on their feet. Not their knees,” Kyle explained. 

 

“Oh.” Mike laughed. “Hoops!”

 

“Whoops. It’s whoops,” Kyle corrected again. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to be nice to Mike. The sooner this was over, the better.

 

He gestured to Mike to follow him. “Come on, it’s this way,” he said, before he started to walk into the forest. 

 

“Right!” Mike said enthusiastically, trotting up behind him.

 

They disappeared into the woods together, leaving Kyle’s house behind. Kyle hadn’t been out here since he had lost his powers. It was spring turning into summer, now, but it wasn’t hot enough to confine yourself indoors just yet. Kyle could hear the chirp of fledglings getting ready to throw themselves into the air.  _ Fly away, little birds _ , he thought.  _ It’s your turn now.  _

 

“What do you know about the Mad Mask and the Blue Freak?” Mike asked suddenly. 

 

“Huh?” Kyle was caught off guard. 

 

“You said that the Mad Mask would be hurting over the Blue Freak’s death. Why?”

 

Kyle shrugged. “I guess I don’t know for sure. I’d hope he would be hurting. It’d redeem him in my eyes.”

 

“You and the Blue Freak were kind of friends, huh?” Mike said. 

 

“How do you figure?” Kyle asked carefully. 

 

“You didn’t tell me, but I’d guess you spoke more than once. You know about him and the Mad Mask. And you don’t sound like you hate him. That sounds like friendship.”

 

Kyle exhaled. This topic was still kind of tender for him. “What did  _ you  _ know about him and the Mad Mask?”

 

“They liked each other,” Mike said. “A lot.”

 

“Duh,” Kyle replied. 

 

“And then the Mad Mask betrayed him, and then I didn’t see the Blue Freak until right before he died.” Mike sighed. “Like I said, I don’t know much.”

 

“Right,” Kyle said. He paused, wondering how much to tell Mike. “The Blue Freak used to talk about the Mad Mask a lot. His confidence, his ambition–“

 

“His hatred of me?” Mike interjected. 

 

“Well, yeah. That too. He, uh, told me about their late night basement work sessions. How they worked so well together, how he loved to hear the Mad Mask talk, how the Mad Mask thought he was brilliant.”

 

“Oh,” Mike said glumly, although Kyle couldn’t imagine why. 

 

“And then, the Ultitron thing happened, and he just… stopped coming by. I don’t know what happened to him.” Kyle shrugged. “That’s all I know.” He stopped, shortly, in front of a familiar tree. “This is it.”

 

This was where he had met the Mad Mask, really. He had broken into his costume bunker, electrocuted him into a tree, and promised him a beautiful future as they held hands under the moonlight.  _ Red flags _ , Kyle thought bitterly.  _ Red flags for miles.  _

 

Mike stared at the tree. “How does it work?”

 

Kyle knelt down, and pried at the bark of the tree until he felt the little panel spring open. He keyed the code in: 3727687. The secret code made him smile nostalgically. The hidden compartment in the tree swung open. “Here it is,” Kyle said, to Mike. 

 

Mike knelt down beside him. “Can I…”

 

Kyle shrugged. “Sure, go ahead.” If the cops found Mike’s fingerprints on the bunker, that might actually help Kyle’s case. 

 

Mike reached into the hidden compartment and pulled out the tattered cloth that had once been the costume of the Blue Freak. Reverently, he ran his hands over the crappy material, pausing every now and again to touch a bullethole or a day homemade seam. 

 

Kyle wasn’t sure what to say. Mike seemed wrapped up in his own world right now. “Does this help?”

 

Mike nodded. “I need to ask you a question, and I need you to answer as honestly as you can.”

 

Kyle’s breath caught in his throat, and his head spun. This had been a bad idea. He was going to be torn apart by forensic psychologists for the rest of his life. “Yeah?” he choked out. 

 

“Were the Mad Mask and the Blue Freak in a relationship?”

 

Kyle blinked. “I… don’t know,” he answered honestly. “Why do you need to…”

 

“I don’t know either,” said Mike. “I never knew. I’m not as smart as he was. But I have to fill in the gaps anyhow.” Kyle got the feeling that Mike wasn’t talking about the Mad Mask anymore. “Is it crap to miss someone who hated you this much?”

 

“I didn’t think anyone would miss the Blue Freak when he left,” Kyle dared.

 

Mike only shrugged silently, a thousand unsaid words written across his face. 

 

_ Fuck it _ .

 

Kyle kissed him roughly, relishing on how he ripped the breath from Mike’s lungs. He held Mike’s face between two hands and thought about how his own powers had been ripped away– how he should be able to crush Mike’s skull in this moment of vulnerability. Instead, he let his thumbs trace over the hero’s freckled cheeks as he finally acted on the desire that had festered inside him ever since he had seen Mike fall from the heavens. 

 

Kyle pulled back to catch his breath, and all of a sudden realized the repercussions of his actions. He roughly pushed Mike away, and scooted backwards. “Stupid,” he told himself. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

 

Mike, who seemed to be in shock, let the Blue Freak’s costume drop to his lap. “I’m… no, I’m not.”

 

“I was calling myself stupid,” Kyle corrected, too caught up in himself to even manage a snarky response. 

 

“Why?” Mike asked. Kyle shot him a look, and Mike clarified, “Why did you… do that? Now, I mean.”

 

“Figures I’d need to spell it out for you.” Kyle looked Mike in the eye. “I was the Blue Freak.”

 

“You…” Mike began. Kyle nodded. “Oh my,” Mike said, and sank his face into his hands, but Kyle didn’t miss the blush that spread out over Mike’s whole face. 

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Kyle asked. He wasn’t  _ terrible.  _

 

“I admitted to the Blue Freak that I missed him!” Mike moaned. 

 

“Me. You can just say that you missed me,” Kyle said.

 

“You’re the Blue Freak and you’re alive and you  _ kissed me!”  _ Mike exclaimed.

 

Kyle looked at his lap. “Yeah. Look, I’m sorry if I freaked you out. I’ve never really done anything like that before.”

 

“Yeah, neither have I,” Mike replied. His eyes darted up hopefully, and then back down. “But… it wasn’t bad.”

 

Kyle laughed in surprise. “You’re having trouble processing this, I see.”

 

“Yeah,” he said. Mike stared down, and he smiled to himself. “Yeah,” he repeated.

 

“Yeah,” Kyle echoed. Mike reached out a hand, shyly.

 

They sat on their knees in the middle of the woods for hours after that, sharing feelings incomprehensible to anyone but them, and never letting go of each other’s hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudoes, and interactions at archvillain-fandom.tumblr.com mean more than you could possibly know : )
> 
> also fun fact the document title for this fic was "fuck you it's mile time"


End file.
